January 2011 Blog Posts (26)

U.K. journalist Michael Dixon disappeared in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, in October 2009. His family continues to search and have attracted worldwide support for their efforts. This song by Kyra Simone is dedicated to Michael, but it very well expresses the feelings of families and friends of the missing. It will go on sale on i-Tunes March 13, 2011, and proceeds will support search efforts for Michael and other missing-persons organizations. Please listen, share, and purchase the song if you…

Ahmed Kousay al-Taie, a resident of Ann Arbor, Michigan who was born in Iraq, is the only American service member still missing here. His family fears he will never be found. Kidnappings of foreigners and Iraqis for ransom or political motives were common as the insurgency gained steam after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Many cases have been resolved as security has improved. Tips… Continue

This is not just another TV spot -- it is the first coverage Arturo's story and the Missing Americans Project have received in a major media market. Coverage like this increases the likelihood of our receiving national coverage. It's also huge because it is the first story to link one of our missing-person stories…

Nancy Davis -- who spent more than 40 years as a missionary in Mexico -- was killed when she and her husband were attacked by armed gunmen about 70 miles south of Reynosa. The couple sped to the border looking for help, but it was too late for Nancy, according to KRGV TV in Texas.…

It's been almost four months since David Hartley was murdered while jet skiing with his wife, Tiffany, on a lake that straddles the Texas/Mexico border. Today, with no body and few answers, Tiffany Hartley continues her search, but has yet to learn what really happened. Tiffany was recently interviewed on the CBS "Early Show". You can read about it and watch the interview here.

A lack of tourists from across the border prompted McAllen, Tex., officials at the McAllen-Miller International Airport and GID Express to offer round trip flights to Mexico, according to this story from KRGV.

A Belizean pastor, the Rev. Jesús Falcon, a volunteer missionary visiting Monterrey, has been reported missing in Mexico. He travelled to the City of Monterrey on Dec. 14 to visit family for the Christmas holidays. Reports say he was met by his mother, Roalva Falcon Asevedo and his stepfather, Arueo Cervantez. All three have disappeared.…

I just happened to be looking at the "missing Americans" page of the U.S. Embassy in Honduras website (the sort of thing I do with my copious spare time) and learned about another missing man: Julio Martin Baltodano. Missing date: November 13, 2008. This is the second missing American to be "backfilled" on the well-buried page since I started looking at it in May 2009. Some of you may remember the story…

When police in Texas stopped a truck, the two Mexican men inside appeared nervous. The police also suspected the gas tank had been tampered-with. They removed one of two tanks and found 15 AK-47s crammed inside. Several other rifles had been taken apart and stuffed in the false tank. …Continue

Looking for a reporter in the Houston, Tex., market who is interested in covering an emerging story about a family trying to find out what happened to their husband/father/grandfather, who disappeared in Matamoros, Mexico, in November. Not only interesting from the perspective of human interest but for all the practical complications and issues, as well as the indifference of the U.S. government to the plight of these families and the lack of standard operating procedures in the consulates for… Continue

Investigators believe a missing 12-year-old girl was taken to Mexico by a 20-year-old man. Isabeth Yanez was last seen at home a week ago and was reported missing by her parents last Tuesday morning.On Monday, the Sheriff's Office said it believes Simon Quintana Guiterrez took Isabeth to a city near Acapulco. Now investigators are working with Mexican authorities, the U.S. Marshals Service and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

An attack on a bus in Honduras claimed the lives of eight passengers including four children. The attack was carried out late Thursday in the eastern Honduran province of Olancho, near the town of Punare. Attackers tried to get the bus to stop, and when they failed they opened fire on the vehicle with automatic weapons. The vehicle was riddled with bullets.

Earlier this week, an attack on a bus in Guatemala killed seven people…

Fifteen bodies, all but one of them decapitated, were found early on Saturday in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, local media reported. The victims, all male, were discovered at dawn near a shopping mall along with several, threatening hand-written messages that are typically left as a calling card by drug cartels.The tourist destination of Acapulco has been plagued in recent years with drug violence as the country's cartels fight for drug transport routes.…Continue